The French national team was held to a 1–1 draw by visiting Italy at the Stade de France in the third round of Group A1 in the UEFA Nations League.
Roberto Mancini’s side forced the hosts to drop their first two points under new head coach Zinedine Zidane, following Les Bleus’ victories in their opening two fixtures against Turkey and Belgium.
France dominated the opening half but were repeatedly thwarted by an inspired Gianluigi Donnarumma, who finished the match with six saves to keep the contest goalless at the break despite the hosts enjoying 66% possession.
Michael Olise finally capitalized on French dominance in the 55th minute, unleashing a powerful strike that rattled off the underside of the crossbar and into the net following a setup by Rayan Cherki.
Italy’s response arrived swiftly. Alessandro Bastoni restored parity in the 68th minute with an equalizer, continuing his impressive scoring run after finding the net in Italy’s previous 4–1 victory over Turkey.
France faced an uphill battle in the closing minutes after Dayot Upamecano received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 85th minute. However, Italy failed to capitalize on the numerical advantage, and the match ended level despite France outshooting their opponents 13 to 7.
Despite the draw, France retain top spot in the group with 7 points, followed by Belgium on 6 points after their 3–0 win over Turkey. Italy sit third with 4 points, while Turkey remain bottom without a point.
France will host Belgium on Monday, October 5 at 20:45 CEST at the Stade de France, while Italy face Turkey simultaneously at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna. A victory for the Azzurri would move them to 7 points and potentially into second place if Belgium lose, while France will look to extend their lead at the top ahead of the final two group matches.
